– There has been a lot of talk about Jim Cornette inducting The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 33 weekend. Cornette appearing at a WWE event would obviously come as a surprise to many but he likely would not turn down the chance to help honor Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The Wrestling Observer reached out to WWE and Cornette but neither would confirm or deny the story.

– International standouts attend WWE tryout

The WWE Performance Center is hosting several top female prospects from around the globe, as well as two male candidates, as part of a mini-tryout this week in Orlando, Fla.

Representing Norway’s independent wrestling scene are Ingrid “Kira” Hoftun and Kamilla “Natasja” Tjöstland, and luchadora Chik Tormenta from Mexico. Six-foot-five Katsiaryna Kavaleva, a championship kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter from Belarus, was invited back to the Performance Center after attending a tryout earlier this year.

Former Olympian Jaime Espinal and second-generation wrestler Wes Brisco also attended the camp.

Espinal is a Dominican-born freestyle wrestler who became Puerto Rico’s first medalist in wrestling when he took silver in the 84 kg division in London in 2012. He also competed and served as Puerto Rico’s flagbearer at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.

Eight-year veteran Wes Brisco is the son and nephew of WWE Hall of Famers Gerald & Jack Brisco, respectively. He used to compete for NXT’s predecessor, Florida Championship Wrestling, and has also wrestled internationally, including for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

– Rusev had shoulder surgery March 9th and is expected to be out of action around two months. It appears Rusev was injured before his March 5th WWE Fastlane loss to Big Show as he’s needed the surgery for some time. The surgery is why he lost to Big Show and why the team with Jinder Mahal was quickly ended. Rusev’s absence may lead to more ring time for Lana as his injury is why she was sent back to WWE NXT and the WWE Performance Center last week.